Mid 20th Century
151-508: Scott Oliver Hall (October 20, 1958 – March 14, 2022) was an American professional wrestler . He was best known for his tenures with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) under his real name and with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) under the ring name Razor Ramon . Born in St. Mary's County, Maryland , Hall began his career in 1984. He rose to prominence after signing with
302-467: A babyface wrestler. Verne Gagne , the owner and promoter of the AWA, had wanted to push Hall to the same heights as he had Hulk Hogan , following Hogan's departure for Vince McMahon 's World Wrestling Federation (WWF). Gagne had Hall use mannerisms and moves similar to Hogan. Hall also traveled to Japan, where he wrestled several matches for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) between 1987 and 1990. Hall formed
453-435: A bona fide athletic contest or competition. Professional wrestling is not a combative sport. Wrestling constituting bona fide athletic contests and competitions, which may be professional or amateur combative sport, shall not be deemed professional wrestling under this Part. Professional wrestling as used in this Part shall not depend on whether the individual wrestlers are paid or have been paid for their performance in
604-532: A handicap match . Razor defeated Jarrett in a ladder match at a May 19, 1995 house show to win his third WWF Intercontinental Championship. Razor Ramon was the first man to win the Intercontinental Title three times . On May 22, he re-lost the title to Jarrett. On June 9, Razor suffered a rib injury during a ladder match rematch against Jarrett. Around this time, he had formed a team with Savio Vega , and Vega replaced Razor to defeat Irwin R. Schyster in
755-414: A job is a losing performance in a wrestling match. It is derived from the euphemism "doing one's job", which was employed to protect information related to kayfabe from being revealed. The term can be used a number of ways. When a wrestler is booked to lose a match, it is described as "a job". The act itself is described with the verb jobbing , while the act of booking (rather than being booked) to job
906-513: A ladder match at WrestleMania X , becoming the undisputed Intercontinental Champion after retrieving both belts. This match was critically acclaimed, and was voted as the Match of the Year for 1994 by readers of Pro Wrestling Illustrated , and it was also the first WWF match to receive a five star rating from sports journalist Dave Meltzer in his Wrestling Observer Newsletter . On WWE.com, this match
1057-415: A performing art evolved from the common practice of match-fixing among American wrestlers in the 19th century, who later sought to make matches shorter, more entertaining, and less physically taxing. As the public gradually realized and accepted that matches were predetermined, wrestlers responded by increasingly adding melodrama, gimmickry, and outlandish stunt work to their performances to further enhance
1208-415: A professional wrestling exhibition. All engagements of professional wrestling shall be referred to as exhibitions, and not as matches. In the industry's slang, a fixed match is referred to as a worked match, derived from the slang word for manipulation, as in "working the crowd". A shoot match is a genuine contest where both wrestlers fight to win and are therefore "straight shooters", which comes from
1359-639: A world championship in a major promotion, Hall held the WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship once for the Puerto Rico-based promotion World Wrestling Council . He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as a singles competitor in 2014 , and as a member of the nWo in 2020 . Hall struggled with alcoholism and substance abuse for much of his career and later life, and died in March 2022, at
1510-506: A "cancer", and that he would inject the WWF with a "lethal dose of poison", so he would no longer have to share ownership of the WWF with Ric Flair. He then revealed the "poison" to be the nWo, who would help McMahon destroy his own company, before it could be ruined by anyone else. Six years after defecting from the promotion, Hall returned to the WWF on February 17 at the No Way Out pay-per-view, and
1661-413: A background in authentic wrestling no longer mattered. After this time, matches became more outlandish and gimmicky and any semblance professional wrestling had to catch wrestling faded. The personas of the wrestlers likewise grew more outlandish. Gorgeous George , who performed throughout the 1940s and 1950s, was the first wrestler whose entrance into the arena was accompanied by a theme song played over
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#17330847840711812-648: A beach, riding boats, fishing, and scaring alligators. His in-ring debut came on June 16 on a house show in Cleveland, OH, where he teamed with Randy Rose in a losing effort against WCW World Tag-Team Champions The Freebirds . While waiting for his first television match, he continued to wrestle on the road and was winless in tag-team and singles action, facing Norman , The Freebirds, and former tag partner, Dan Spivey . Hall finally gained his first victory on June 29 when he pinned Rip Morgan in Salisbury, MD, and then entered
1963-520: A carny term for a shooting gallery gun whose sights were not deliberately misaligned. Wrestling in the United States blossomed in popularity after the Civil War , with catch wrestling eventually becoming the most popular style. At first, professional wrestlers were genuine competitive fighters, but they struggled to draw audiences because Americans did not find real wrestling to be very entertaining, so
2114-467: A central authority. Nor could any of them stomach the idea of leaving the NWA themselves to compete directly with McMahon, for that would mean their territories would become fair game for the other NWA members. McMahon also had a creative flair for TV that his rivals lacked. For instance, the AWA's TV productions during the 1980s were amateurish, low-budget, and out-of-touch with contemporary culture, which lead to
2265-574: A champion that Curley put forth: Dick Shikat . The National Wrestling Association shut down in 1980. In 1948, a number of promoters from across the country came together to form the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). The NWA recognized one "world champion", voted on by its members, but allowed member promoters to crown their own local champions in their territories. If a member poached wrestlers from another member, or held matches in another member's territory, they risked being ejected from
2416-493: A degree. Vince Russo, the boss of WCW in 2000, completely disregarded kayfabe by routinely discussing business matters and office politics in public, which alienated fans. I watch championship wrestling from Florida with wrestling commentator Gordon Solie . Is this all "fake"? If so, they deserve an Oscar . Job (professional wrestling) Mid 20th Century 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s In professional wrestling slang ,
2567-404: A distinct vernacular . It has achieved mainstream success and influence within popular culture , with many terms, tropes , and concepts being referenced in everyday language as well as in film , music , television , and video games . Likewise, numerous professional wrestlers have become national or international icons with recognition by the broader public. In the United States, wrestling
2718-410: A draw would travel with their own jobber. Free from televised exposure, the star could beat the same opponent from town to town. Such a jobber could even be elevated to champion status, entering the ring with an impressive sounding title belt only to have it removed at the end of the match night after night. There are times, however, when a jobber will prove their skill, determination, and/or loyalty to
2869-476: A face and as a snobbish intellectual, known as "The Genius", who also read poems as a heel) and Lombardi ("The Brooklyn Brawler", a smug, tough-talking brawler). World Championship Wrestling (WCW), just like the WWE, made huge use of jobbers during the late 1980s and 1990s. Jobbers like Sgt. Buddy Lee Parker , Dale Veasey , George South , Bobby Walker , Joe Gomez , The Gambler , The Roadblock and Trent Knight lost
3020-410: A fee, a visitor could challenge the wrestler to a quick match. If the challenger defeated the champion in a short time frame, usually 15 minutes, he won a prize. To encourage challenges, the carnival operators staged rigged matches in which an accomplice posing as a visitor challenged the champion and won, giving the audience the impression that the champion was easy to beat. This practice taught wrestlers
3171-602: A feud between the two. It carried into the King of the Ring tournament and triggered a slow fan favorite turn for Razor, as he gained respect for The 1–2–3 Kid and support from the crowd. Ted DiBiase showed no respect for Razor, making fun of him for losing to such a small jobber. Ramon helped The 1–2–3 Kid defeat DiBiase, solidifying his face turn. The feud culminated at SummerSlam , where Ramon defeated DiBiase in DiBiase's final WWF match. On
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#17330847840713322-606: A feud with Dustin Rhodes in April 1992 when he interfered in two televised matches Rhodes had with Bobby Eaton . The idea of adding him to the Dangerous Alliance was contemplated, but fell through, and Hall left WCW shortly after a final televised match against Rob Campbell on May 8. Hall joined the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) later that month, as "Razor Ramon", a shady and stylish Cuban American bully from Miami . The character
3473-487: A feud with Shawn Michaels over which man had the stronger claim to the Intercontinental Championship. Michaels had been stripped of the title months before due to " inactivity " (he was actually suspended during that time). He returned to television with his own version of the belt, claiming he was still the champion, since he hadn't been beaten for it. The matter was settled when Ramon defeated Michaels in
3624-405: A fifth time, again by defeating The Steiner Brothers. At Uncensored , Hall got his WCW World Heavyweight Championship shot against Sting, losing the match despite interference on his behalf from Dusty Rhodes . Hall was ( legitimately ) taken off TV for a short while and forced by WCW to enter rehab , after he and Nash showed up to the March 16, 1998, episode of Nitro heavily intoxicated and under
3775-611: A foot injury which forced him to forfeit the title. Hall was not seen again until October 1999, when he and Kevin Nash began sitting at ringside during WCW television, proclaiming "the band was getting back together." On the November 8 episode of Nitro , Hall defeated Goldberg, Bret Hart, and Sid Vicious in a Texas tornado ladder match to regain the United States Heavyweight Championship. Two weeks later, at Mayhem , he won
3926-532: A heel team. However, Lombardi and Horowitz ended up losing most of their matches in the WWE. In addition, Triple H was given the role of "jobbing to the stars" by WWF owner Vince McMahon in the summer of 1996 as punishment for the Madison Square Garden Incident . On the independent wrestling circuit, including the Mexican independent circuit, the star wrestlers with sufficient name recognition to be
4077-405: A legitimate sport. Firstly, wrestling was more entertaining when it was faked, whereas fakery did not make boxing any more entertaining. Secondly, in a rigged boxing match, the designated loser must take a real beating for his "defeat" to be convincing, but wrestling holds can be faked convincingly without inflicting injury. This meant that boxers were less willing to "take dives"; they wanted to have
4228-471: A major promotion, giving them exposure they wouldn't receive otherwise. While being interviewed by Byron Saxton before his match against Braun Strowman in 2016, independent wrestler Johnny Knockout said he wanted to wrestle Strowman because "he likes big, sweaty men ". The unexpected response led to Knockout eventually trending on Twitter ahead of other events on that night's Raw . Heels and some faces used to abuse and humiliate jobbers during or after
4379-754: A match against Gus Sonnenberg in January 1929. Bowser then broke away from the trust to form his own cartel, the American Wrestling Association (AWA), in September 1930, and he declared Sonnenberg to be the AWA champion. This AWA should not be confused with Wally Kadbo's AWA founded in 1960. Curley reacted to this move by convincing the National Boxing Association to form the National Wrestling Association , which in turn crowned
4530-408: A match. For example, Jake "The Snake" Roberts got Bob Emory's and Trent Knight's heads inside the sack where he kept his python snake; Dick Murdoch smashed the aforementioned Emory against a podium and then hit him with a piece of wood, Kenny Kendall got hogtied twice by Bunkhouse Buck at the end of a match, Reno Riggins was made to put a woman's dress on. A slightly higher position is "jobber to
4681-529: A match: Jake Roberts would allow his pet snake slither over his opponents once he pinned them; Brutus Beefcake would cut their hair off (on those sporting long hair or a mullet ); Big Boss Man would cuff them to the ropes and beat them with a baton; Ted DiBiase would put them under with the Million Dollar Dream and then stuff a hundred-dollar bill in their mouths; Lex Luger , under his "Narcissist" gimmick, would make them stand up by holding them by
Scott Hall - Misplaced Pages Continue
4832-424: A more literal meaning in those places. A notable example is India's Pro Wrestling League . In numerous American states, professional wrestling is legally defined as a non-sport. For instance, New York defines professional wrestling as: Professional wrestling means an activity in which participants struggle hand-in-hand primarily for the purpose of providing entertainment to spectators and which does not comprise
4983-440: A new city, attendance was high because there was a waiting fanbase cultivated in advance by the cable TV shows. The NWA's traditional anti-competitive tricks were no match for this. The NWA attempted to centralize and create their own national cable television shows to counter McMahon's rogue promotion, but it failed in part because the members of the NWA, ever protective of their territories, could not stomach submitting themselves to
5134-598: A number of these wrestlers had main-event matches at some point (such as Sharpe receiving matches against then-WWF World Heavyweight Champion Bob Backlund or Danny Davis working in six-man tag-team matches with The Hart Foundation , usually against Tito Santana and the British Bulldogs (during the "dishonest referee" angle)) before being pushed toward the bottom of the roster's hierarchy; others, such as Mick Foley, would later become main-event wrestlers. Some were given gimmicks of their own, such as Poffo (a poet laureate as
5285-710: A one-time WCW World Television Champion , and a seven-time WCW World Tag Team Champion . He left WCW in February 2000, returning to the WWF (later renamed WWE) for a brief stint in 2002. He spent the rest of his career wrestling for various promotions, such as Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he held the TNA World Tag Team Championship once, with Kevin Nash and Eric Young . He wrestled his final match in June 2016. Although he never won
5436-440: A post-match beating by Razor. Razor and Flair were scheduled to face The Ultimate Maniacs (Savage and Warrior) at Survivor Series . Warrior was fired from the WWF prior to the event and replaced by Flair's "executive consultant", Mr. Perfect . Razor and Flair lost to Savage and Perfect via disqualification, for constantly double-teaming them. WWF Champion Bret Hart was scheduled to defend his title against The Ultimate Warrior at
5587-427: A reputation of being reasonably capable competitors (which makes the stars all the more impressive when they in turn defeat them easily) as well as to earn the contempt of the audience who enjoy seeing them finally get their comeuppance when they take on the tougher wrestlers. Heels can also be jobbers, such as Steve Lombardi during the 1980s and early 1990s. In the 1980s, Lombardi teamed with Barry Horowitz , to form
5738-642: A successful house show series with Bill Irwin . His television debut finally came on the July 9 edition of World Championship Wrestling where he was pinned by The Great Muta . On the July 9 edition of WCW Pro he faced Terry Funk and was defeated. His PPV debut came at The Great American Bash: The Glory Days , where he participated in a King of the Hill battle royal . He then began jobbing regularly, losing to The Great Muta, Mike Rotunda , Sid Vicious , Ron Simmons , and Butch Reed . His final match came on November 7 when he
5889-456: A tag team partner to face Steiner and Horace Hogan . Initially, Hall said he would do it alone, but Kevin Nash came to the entrance and offered his help. The team (no longer billed as The Outsiders) won the match. At Starrcade , Hall, disguised as a security guard, used a stun gun on WCW World Heavyweight Champion Goldberg during his title defense against Kevin Nash. Not having seen the interference, Nash powerbombed and covered Goldberg to become
6040-649: A tag team with his more experienced friend Curt Hennig , whom he later would credit for cultivating his early professional wrestling career. The team defeated Jimmy Garvin and Steve Regal for the AWA World Tag Team Championship on January 18, 1986, in a 58-minute match in Albuquerque, New Mexico . The champions defended against such challengers as Buddy Rose and Doug Somers , Nord the Barbarian and Boris Zhukov , and Bill and Scott Irwin . They lost
6191-484: A team called "The Bad Guys", consisting of himself, The 1–2–3 Kid, Davey Boy Smith , and The Headshrinkers ( Fatu and Sione ). They faced The Teamsters (Shawn Michaels, Diesel, Owen Hart , Jim Neidhart , and Jeff Jarrett ). Ramon ended up the sole survivor of the match. This began a feud with Jeff Jarrett, which led into the next year. At the 1995 Royal Rumble , Razor lost the Intercontinental Championship to Jarrett, in controversial fashion; Jarrett had originally won
Scott Hall - Misplaced Pages Continue
6342-497: A typical American household only received four national channels by antenna, and ten to twelve local channels via UHF broadcasting . But cable television could carry a much larger selection of channels and therefore had room for niche interests. The WWF started with a show called All-American Wrestling airing on the USA Network in September 1983. McMahon's TV shows made his wrestlers national celebrities, so when he held matches in
6493-575: A victory for all the pain to which they subjected themselves. In the 1910s, promotional cartels for professional wrestling emerged in the East Coast (outside its traditional heartland in the Midwest ). These promoters sought to make long-term plans with their wrestlers, and to ensure their more charismatic and crowd-pleasing wrestlers received championships, further entrenching the desire for worked matches. The primary rationale for shoot matches at this point
6644-477: A victory over Sting and Lex Luger at Hog Wild , and a WarGames match win at Fall Brawl . They defeated Harlem Heat at Halloween Havoc for their first WCW World Tag Team Championship . They successfully defended the title against The Nasty Boys and The Faces of Fear in a three-way match at World War 3 , and then again defeated The Faces of Fear at Starrcade . They lost the title to The Steiner Brothers at Souled Out, but two days later Eric Bischoff returned
6795-436: Is a form of athletic theater that combines mock combat with drama , with the premise that the performers are competitive wrestlers. Professional wrestling is distinguished by its scripted outcomes and emphasis on entertainment and showmanship . The staged nature of matches is an open secret , with both wrestlers and spectators nonetheless maintaining the pretense that performances are bona fide competitions, which
6946-410: Is a true sport. Wrestlers would at all times flatly deny allegations that they fixed their matches, and they often remained in-character in public even when not performing. When in public, wrestlers would sometimes say the word kayfabe to each other as a coded signal that there were fans present and they needed to be in character. Professional wrestlers in the past strongly believed that if they admitted
7097-403: Is called jobbing out . To lose a match fairly (meaning without any kayfabe rules being broken) is to job cleanly . Wrestlers who routinely (or exclusively) lose matches are known as jobbers or "dummy wrestlers". A wrestler skilled at enhancing the matches they lose, as opposed to a jobber, is called a carpenter . In the post-kayfabe era the term has taken on a negative connotation, leading to
7248-427: Is generally practiced in an amateur context. No professional league for competitive wrestling exists due to a lack of popularity. For example, Real Pro Wrestling , an American professional freestyle wrestling league, dissolved in 2007 after just two seasons. In other countries, such as Iran and India , wrestling enjoys widespread popularity as a genuine sport, and the phrase "professional wrestling" therefore has
7399-470: Is likened to the suspension of disbelief employed when engaging with fiction . Professional wrestlers perform as characters and usually maintain a " gimmick " consisting of a specific persona , stage name , entrance theme , and other distinguishing traits. Matches are the primary vehicle for advancing storylines, which typically center on interpersonal conflicts, or feuds , between heroic " faces " and villainous " heels ". A wrestling ring , akin to
7550-733: Is ranked No. 5 of the Top 24 Matches in WrestleMania History. Razor continued to feud with Michaels and his bodyguard Diesel . On the April 30 episode of Superstars , he lost the Intercontinental Title to Diesel, after interference from Michaels. At SummerSlam , Razor (with Walter Payton in his corner) defeated Diesel to win the WWF Intercontinental Championship for a second time, after Shawn Michaels accidentally hit Diesel with Sweet Chin Music . At Survivor Series , he captained
7701-572: The Free for All tournament match before the King of the Ring pay-per-view . Razor managed Vega throughout the tournament. He lost to Mabel in the final match. Razor and Vega lost to Men on a Mission (Mabel and Mo ) at In Your House 2: The Lumberjacks , and lost a WWF (World) Tag Team Championship match to Owen Hart and Yokozuna on the August 7 episode of Raw . Razor had an Intercontinental Championship ladder match (a rematch from WrestleMania X) against
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#17330847840717852-539: The Freebird Rule to defend their title. With Nash and Syxx out with injuries, Hall mostly wrestled singles matches in the last quarter of 1997, and in one of them he submitted to Lex Luger in a grudge match at Halloween Havoc , with Larry Zbyszko as the guest referee. Hall won the 60-man battle royal at World War 3 in November 1997 to earn a shot at the WCW World Heavyweight Championship . On
8003-609: The New Jersey State Athletic Control Board that professional wrestling is not a real sport because its matches have predetermined outcomes. Shortly thereafter, New Jersey deregulated professional wrestling. The WWF then rebranded itself as a " sports entertainment " company. In the early years of the 20th century, the style of wrestling used in professional wrestling matches was catch wrestling . Promoters wanted their matches to look realistic and so preferred to recruit wrestlers with real grappling skills. In
8154-566: The Osaka Dome . In late March 1997, Hall failed a drug test and was forced into a rehab and was written off television for a month which forced him to miss Spring Stampede , Hall came back on the April 21st edition of Monday Nitro. Since Eric Bischoff (the Executive Vice President of WCW) was a member of the nWo, he used his power to return the title to The Outsiders on a technicality whenever they lost it. The Outsiders would also use
8305-776: The Royal Rumble , but Razor Ramon replaced Warrior after the latter left the company. During the feud, Razor verbally disrespected Hart and the Hart wrestling family . Razor lost to Hart at the Royal Rumble, submitting to the Sharpshooter . Razor made his WrestleMania debut at WrestleMania IX , pinning former WWF Champion Bob Backlund with a roll-up. On the May 17 episode of Monday Night Raw he suffered an upset loss to jobber "The Kid" (who consequently became known as "The 1–2–3 Kid"), beginning
8456-448: The Royal Rumble . Razor lost the title to Goldust after Razor's former partner The 1–2–3 Kid attacked him. Ramon was originally scheduled to face Goldust in a rematch for the title at WrestleMania XII in a Miami Street Fight, but Hall was suspended for six weeks by the WWF due to his drug use. Reporting at the time had Hall as already having given his notice via telegram as he looked to leave for WCW. The suspension meant he would sit out
8607-525: The Team 2000 stable. During his tenure with NJPW, Hall primarily teamed with Hiroyoshi Tenzan , Satoshi Kojima , Scott Norton , and his other stablemates in a series of tag team matches and six-man tag team matches . Hall wrestled for NJPW until September 2001, with his final bout being a title match against Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion Keiji Muto . On the January 24, 2002, episode of SmackDown! , WWF co-owner Vince McMahon stated that his company had
8758-547: The WCW World Television Championship after Rick Steiner forfeited the match due to injury. He successfully defended both titles against Booker T later that night. Eight days later, on Nitro , Hall vacated the Television title by throwing it into a trash can. He was soon stripped of his United States title, after being sidelined with a knee injury. Hall and Nash teamed up to defeat Bret Hart and Goldberg on
8909-537: The WWC Caribbean Heavyweight Championship . He lost it to Super Medic III on April 20. After wrestling a dark match on April 29, 1991, in Atlanta, GA at a taping of World Championship Wrestling, Hall made his official return to WCW and was renamed "The Diamond Studd", a gimmick similar to Rick Rude 's (both were cocky, vain and would invite attractive women from the audience into the ring). He
9060-543: The independent circuit , to internationally broadcast events at major arenas. The largest and most influential promotions are in the United States , Mexico , Japan , and northwest Europe (the United Kingdom , Germany/Austria and France ), which have each developed distinct styles, traditions, and subgenres within professional wrestling. Professional wrestling has developed its own culture and community , including
9211-431: The spectacle . By at least the early 20th century, professional wrestling had diverged from the competitive sport to become an artform and genre of sports entertainment . Professional wrestling is performed around the world through various " promotions ", which are roughly analogous to production companies or sports leagues . Promotions vary considerably in size, scope, and creative approach, ranging from local shows on
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#17330847840719362-577: The 1920s, a group of wrestlers and promoters known as the Gold Dust Trio introduced moves which have since become staples of the mock combat of professional wrestling, such as body slams, suplexes , punches, finishing moves, and out-of-ring count-outs. By the early 1930s, most wrestlers had adopted personas to generate public interest. These personas could broadly be characterized as either faces (likeable) or heels (villainous). Native Americans, cowboys, and English aristocrats were staple characters in
9513-400: The 1930s and 1940s. Before the age of television, some wrestlers played different personas depending on the region they were performing in. This eventually came to an end in the age of national television wrestling shows, which forced wrestlers to stick to one persona. Wrestlers also often used some sort of gimmick, such as a finishing move, eccentric mannerisms, or out-of-control behavior (in
9664-1031: The 1980s and early 1990s, Superstars of Wrestling , Wrestling Challenge and All-Star Wrestling . Barry Horowitz and Steve Lombardi were the wrestlers most prominently identified with this role; other wrestlers who performed mainly as jobbers during this period included "Leaping" Lanny Poffo , Brady Boone , Tiger Chung Lee , Barry O , Reno Riggins , Duane Gill , Barry Hardy , Mick Foley , Scott Casey , Dangerous Danny Davis (also wrestling as Mr. X), The Shadows ( Randy Colley and Jose Luis Rivera ), Los Conquistadores (Jose Luis Rivera and José Estrada Sr. ), "Iron" Mike Sharpe , Von Krus , S. D. Jones , George South , Dusty Wolfe , Mario Mancini , Tim Horner , Sonny Rogers, Brian Costello , Red Tyler, and Tom "Rocky" Stone . Many of these wrestlers also did work matches against each other at larger arena cards at venues such as Madison Square Garden and were usually more competitive against their opponents, with several of these wrestlers gaining victories. In some cases,
9815-460: The 1990s, WCW became a credible rival to the WWF, but by end it suffered from a series of creative missteps that led to its failure and purchase by the WWF. One of its mistakes was that it diminished the glamor of its World Heavyweight Championship . Between January 2000 and March 2001, the title changed hands eighteen times, which sapped fan enthusiasm, particularly for the climactic pay-per-view matches. In professional wrestling, two factors decide
9966-641: The Atlantic Athletic Corporation (AAC). The AAC shut down in 1960. In 1958, Omaha promoter and NWA member Joe Dusek recognized Verne Gagne as the world champion without the approval of the NWA. Gagne asked for a match against the recognized NWA champion Pat O'Connor. The NWA refused to honor the request, so Gagne and Minneapolis promoter Wally Karbo established the American Wrestling Association in 1960. This AWA should not be confused with Paul Bowser's AWA, which ceased operations just two months prior. Gagne's AWA operated out of Minnesota . Unlike
10117-493: The August 8, 1992, episode of Superstars , defeating local jobber Paul Van Dale (the father of future WWE wrestler Carmella ) with his finishing move, The Razor's Edge (previously called "The Diamond Death Drop" in WCW). Early on, Ramon wore large gold chain necklaces to the ring. While handing them to an attendant at ringside he would threaten "Something happens to this, something gonna happen to you", and then flick his toothpick at
10268-653: The Barbarian , and Shinya Hashimoto . Scott Hall, as Texas Scott, competed for the Catch Wrestling Association (CWA) at the "Catch Cup '90" tournament on December 22, 1990, in Bremen, Germany before 6,000 fans. Hall was defeated by the Soul Taker in the tournament final. From 1990 to 1991, Hall had a stint in the Puerto Rican promotion World Wrestling Council (WWC). On March 3, he defeated Miguel Pérez, Jr. for
10419-704: The Butcher , Cactus Jack , and Big Van Vader lost to Sting , El Gigante , and The Steiner Brothers in a "Chamber of Horrors Match". On the November 19 episode of Clash of the Champions XVII , Studd lost to Zenk in a rematch from The Great American Bash. After an injury sidelined him for Starrcade in December 1991, Studd entered 1992 forming short-lived tag teams with Vinnie Vegas and Scotty Flamingo (as part of The Diamond Mine stable ), as well as with members of Paul E. Dangerously 's Dangerous Alliance . Studd began
10570-496: The December 13 episode of Nitro , winning the WCW World Tag Team Championship for the sixth time. After the nWo returned in December 1999, Hall joined Nash, Bret Hart, Jeff Jarrett, and Scott Steiner in what was coined " nWo 2000 ". However, Hall was injured again thereafter and the tag team titles were vacated. In 2000, Hall feuded with WCW World Heavyweight Champion Sid Vicious and nWo teammate Jeff Jarrett over
10721-399: The January 12, 1998, episode of Nitro , The Outsiders defeated The Steiner Brothers to win the WCW World Tag Team Championship for a fourth time. Hall wrestled Larry Zbyszko at Souled Out and lost by disqualification. The Outsiders lost the title back to The Steiner Brothers on the February 9 episode of Nitro . At SuperBrawl VIII , The Outsiders won the WCW World Tag Team Championship for
10872-546: The May 17, 1993, episode of Raw . He then renamed himself the "1-2-3 Kid". This win (and the Kid) were worked into Ramon's feud with Ted DiBiase , with DiBiase taunting Ramon repeatedly over losing to a nobody until he too was pinned by the Kid. On the September 20, 1993, episode of Raw , I.R.S. was pinned with a rollup by P.J. Walker thanks to Ramon's interference. Jobbers can also get recognition on social media after appearing on
11023-408: The NWA, at which point his territory became fair game for everyone. The NWA would blacklist wrestlers who worked for independent promoters or who publicly criticized an NWA promoter or who did not throw a match on command. If an independent promoter tried to establish himself in a certain area, the NWA would send their star performers to perform for the local NWA promoter to draw the customers away from
11174-477: The NWA, which only allowed faces to be champions, Gagne occasionally allowed heels to win the AWA championship so that they could serve as foils for him. In August 1983, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), a promotion in the north-east , withdrew from the NWA. Vince K. McMahon then took over as its boss. No longer bound by the territorial pact of the NWA, McMahon began expanding his promotion into
11325-515: The October 4, 1993, episode of Monday Night Raw , a 20-man battle royal was held; the last two participants would face each other the next week for the vacant WWF Intercontinental Championship . Razor and Rick Martel were those final two. The next week on Raw , Razor pinned Martel after a Razor's Edge to win the Intercontinental Championship. Razor Ramon successfully defended his title against Irwin R. Schyster at Royal Rumble 1994 . He also began
11476-613: The WCW World Heavyweight Champion, and break Goldberg's 173 match winning streak. Hall and Nash were allied again and, in January 1999, the two nWo factions rejoined. Hall feuded with Goldberg and faced him in a ladder taser match on January 19 at Souled Out . He lost the match when Goldberg used the taser gun on him. At SuperBrawl IX , Hall defeated Roddy Piper for the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship . Shortly after, he suffered
11627-448: The WCW television show after leaving WWF was an unannounced promo on May 27, 1996, appearing from the crowd in street clothes and claimed to be "an outsider". On June 10, he was joined by Kevin Nash. They stated they were undertaking a hostile takeover of WCW, then slammed interviewer Eric Bischoff through the commentator's table. The angle paralleled the real-life competition between WCW and
11778-525: The WWE and ended up being a heel jobber. Another example is Siva Afi , who was a successful main-eventer/mid-carder in the independent circuit, including challenging Ric Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship to a 60-minute time limit draw in front of 20,000 people, ended up being a jobber in the WWF, which eventually led to other local promotions to give him a jobber position. A tag-team known as The Undertakers that did well on
11929-550: The WWF in May 1992, assuming the name Razor Ramon. While within the company, he won the WWF Intercontinental Championship four times. He departed the company in May 1996, and subsequently signed with rival promotion WCW, where he became a founding member of the New World Order (nWo) faction, along with Hulk Hogan and Kevin Nash . In the company, he became a two-time WCW United States Heavyweight Champion ,
12080-462: The WWF. At Bash at the Beach , Nash and Hall (now known as The Outsiders) challenged Sting , Lex Luger , and Randy Savage to a six-man tag team match, saying they had a mystery partner. That partner turned out to be Hulk Hogan, and the three formed the New World Order (nWo) . The stable stormed WCW, recruiting such stars as Syxx (formerly 1-2-3 Kid) and The Giant . The Outsiders closed out 1996 with
12231-609: The age of 63. Hall was born in St. Mary's County, Maryland , on October 20, 1958. He grew up as a military brat , attending high school in Munich and moving once every year before he was 15. Hall began his career in 1984 in the National Wrestling Alliance 's (NWA) Florida territory Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) and soon began a feud with Dusty Rhodes . He and Dan Spivey trained together in Florida (mainly under Rhodes, but also under Mike Rotunda and Barry Windham ). When it
12382-401: The arena's loudspeakers, his being Pomp and Circumstance . He also wore a costume: a robe and hairnet, which he removed after getting in the ring. He also had a pre-match ritual where his "butler" would spray the ring with perfume. In the 1980s, Vince McMahon made entrance songs, costumes, and rituals standard for his star wrestlers. For instance, McMahon's top star Hulk Hogan would delight
12533-418: The art of staging rigged matches and fostered a mentality that spectators were marks to be duped. The term kayfabe comes from carny slang. By the turn of the 20th century, most professional wrestling matches were "worked" and some journalists exposed the practice: American wrestlers are notorious for the amount of faking they do. It is because of this fact that suspicion attaches to so many bouts that
12684-550: The audience by tearing his shirt off before each match. The first major promoter cartel emerged on the East Coast, although up to that point, wrestling's heartland had been in the Midwest. Notable members of this cartel included Jack Curley , Lou Daro, Paul Bowser and Tom and Tony Packs. The promoters colluded to solve a number of problems that hurt their profits. Firstly, they could force their wrestlers to perform for less money. As
12835-476: The belts to Rose and Somers by countout (an unusual and unexplained deviation from the standard rule of pro wrestling) on May 17, after interference by Colonel DeBeers . After losing the title, Hall and Hennig soon parted ways. Hall then received shots at the AWA World Heavyweight Championship , against Stan Hansen and Rick Martel . Although Gagne wanted to put the belt on Hall, Hall hated
12986-424: The cartel grew, there were fewer independent promoters where independent wrestlers could find work, and many were forced to sign a contract with the cartel to receive steady work. The contracts forbade them from performing at independent venues. A wrestler who refused to play by the cartel's rules was barred from performing at its venues. A second goal of the wrestling cartels was to establish an authority to decide who
13137-418: The case of heels). The matches could also be gimmicky sometimes, with wrestlers fighting in mud and piles of tomatoes and so forth. The most successful and enduring gimmick to emerge from the 1930s were tag-team matches. Promoters noticed that matches slowed down as the wrestlers in the ring tired, so they gave them partners to relieve them. It also gave heels another way to misbehave by double-teaming. Towards
13288-544: The case when the wrestler is beaten very easily, or squashed . Sometimes, jobbing is presented to a wrestler because of the problems and bad working relationship that the wrestler and the owner of the promotion have. At other times, it is a requirement of a wrestler's on-the-job training, learning how to perform in front of a live audience while helping make the more established wrestlers look credible. World Wrestling Entertainment ( WWE ) has referred to jobbers as lovable , adorable "losers". Sometimes they euphemistically use
13439-423: The character in shows must be considered fictional, wholly separate from the life of the performer. This is similar to other entertainers who perform with a persona that shares their own name. Some wrestlers also incorporate elements of their real-life personalities into their characters, even if they and their in-ring persona have different names. Kayfabe is the practice of pretending that professional wrestling
13590-455: The cold weather in the territory, recognized the AWA as a "sinking ship", and left for the NWA in 1989. Hall received a tryout at a house show in August 1987 teaming with Jerry Allen losing to Iron Mike Sharpe and Barry Horowitz . On January 23, 1990, Hall received another tryout at a WWF Wrestling Challenge taping in Fort Myers, Florida. At the event, Hall was defeated by Paul Roma , and
13741-461: The commission. The Commission did on very rare occasions hand out such authorizations, such as for a championship match between Jim Londos and Jim Browning in June 1934. This decree did not apply to amateur wrestling, which the commission had no authority over. Wrestling fans widely suspected that professional wrestling was fake, but they did not care as long as it entertained. In 1933, a wrestling promoter named Jack Pfefer started talking about
13892-540: The current fashion of wrestling is the universal discussion as to the honesty of the matches. And certainly the most interesting phrase of this discussion is the unanimous agreement: "Who cares if they're fixed or not—the show is good." Newspapers tended to shun professional wrestling, as journalists saw its theatrical pretense to being a legitimate sport as untruthful. Eventually promoters resorted to publishing their own magazines in order to get press coverage and communicate with fans. The first professional wrestling magazine
14043-405: The end of the 1930s, faced with declining revenues, promoters chose to focus on grooming charismatic wrestlers with no regard for their skill because it was charisma that drew the crowds, and wrestlers who were both skilled at grappling and charismatic were hard to come by. Since most of the public by this time knew and accepted that professional wrestling was fake, realism was no longer paramount and
14194-597: The facade of kayfabe as best as they could. In 1989, Vince McMahon testified before the New Jersey government that professional wrestling was not a true sport and therefore should be exempted from sports-related taxes. Many wrestlers and fans resented McMahon for this, but Lou Thesz accepted it as the smart move as it gave the industry more freedom to do as it pleased, and because by that point professional wrestling no longer attempted to appear real. The demise of WCW in 2001 provided some evidence that kayfabe still mattered to
14345-470: The first place. "Double-crosses", where a wrestler agreed to lose a match but nevertheless fought to win, remained a problem in the early cartel days. At times a promoter would even award a victorious double-crosser the title of champion to preserve the facade of sport. But promoters punished such wrestlers by blacklisting them, making it quite challenging to find work. Double-crossers could also be sued for breach of contract, such as Dick Shikat in 1936. In
14496-506: The following weeks, Hall mocked Nash, calling himself "Medium Sexy (later "Super Sexy"), the Nash Killer". On the July 20 episode of Nitro , Hall (with The Giant) won the WCW World Tag Team Championship for a sixth time, defeating Sting and Nash after outside interference from Bret Hart (who was feuding with Sting at the time). This reign ended at Halloween Havoc , when Rick Steiner defeated The Giant and Scott Steiner (who replaced Hall) to win
14647-610: The game is not popular here. Nine out of ten bouts, it has been said, are pre-arranged affairs, and it would be no surprise if the ratio of fixed matches to honest ones was really so high. The wrestler Lou Thesz recalled that between 1915 and 1920, a series of exposés in the newspapers about the integrity of professional wrestling alienated a lot of fans, sending the industry "into a tailspin". But rather than perform more shoot matches, professional wrestlers instead committed themselves wholesale to fakery. Several reasons explain why professional wrestling became fake whereas boxing endured as
14798-455: The government. They pledged to stop allocating exclusive territories to its promoters, to stop blacklisting wrestlers who worked for outsider promoters, and to admit any promoter into the Alliance. The NWA would flout many of these promises, but its power was nonetheless weakened by the lawsuit. Paul Bowser's AWA joined the NWA in 1949. The AWA withdrew from the Alliance in 1957 and renamed itself
14949-694: The hair and make them look at themselves in a mirror; the Islanders would chew some fruit (usually pineapple) and then spit it over their chests, and so on. Some jobbers, such as Barry Horowitz , Iron Mike Sharpe , the Brooklyn Brawler or the Mulkey Brothers grew to become household names to fans. Others, such as Trent Knight, Cougar Jay, Reno Riggins, Tommy Angel, Bob Emory, Ricky Nelson, Curtis Thompson , Kenny Kendall, or Eddie Jackie, were expected by fans to be squashed and even humiliated during or after
15100-405: The hapless attendant. Razor's first major angle began on the September 14 episode of Prime Time Wrestling , when he interfered in a WWF Championship match between champion Randy Savage and Ric Flair , attacking Savage on the floor and enabling Flair to win the title. As a result, Razor and Savage started a feud , which later involved The Ultimate Warrior , after Warrior saved Savage from
15251-475: The idea for Hall's on-screen toothpick after the two used toothpicks at a Waffle House and that he was originally supposed to flick toothpicks at cameras with Hall, but couldn't because one fell out of his mouth before the first toothpick promo. At Clash of the Champions XVI: Fall Brawl on September 2, The Diamond Studd lost to Ron Simmons . At Halloween Havoc 1991 , the team of Studd, Abdullah
15402-544: The independent circuit became jobbers when they joined the WWF in 1992 and became known as Double Trouble. Sometimes, jobbing may be used as a gimmick. While in ECW, Al Snow began referring to jobbing on-screen as part of his gimmick. He subsequently formed a stable called The J.O.B. Squad , composed of prominent jobbers. In World Championship Wrestling , the tendency of the Armstrongs (particularly Brad Armstrong ) to lose matches
15553-513: The independent. By 1956, the NWA controlled 38 promotions within the United States, with more in Canada, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand. The NWA's monopolistic practices became so stifling that the independents appealed to the government for help. In October 1956 the US Attorney General's office filed an antitrust lawsuit against the NWA in an Iowa federal district court. The NWA settled with
15704-471: The industry was anything but a competitive sport. The first wrestling promoter to publicly admit to routinely fixing matches was Jack Pfefer . In 1933, he started talking about the industry's inner workings to the New York Daily Mirror , resulting in a huge exposé. The exposé neither surprised nor alienated most wrestling fans, although some promoters like Jack Curley were furious and tried to restore
15855-487: The industry's inner workings to the New York Daily Mirror , maintaining no pretense that wrestling was real and passing on planned results just before the matches took place. While fans were neither surprised nor alienated, traditionalists like Jack Curley were furious, and most promoters tried to maintain the facade of kayfabe as best they could. Not the least interesting of all the minor phenomena produced by
16006-486: The influence of painkillers. While Hall was absent, the nWo split into two feuding factions. At Slamboree , Hall returned to team with Kevin Nash, for a tag team title defense against Sting and The Giant. Hall turned on Nash, costing them the title, and switched sides to align himself with Hulk Hogan and his splinter faction, nWo Hollywood . On the July 6 episode of Nitro , Hall was handpicked by Hogan to wrestle United States Heavyweight Champion Bill Goldberg . Hall lost
16157-516: The latter as part of the Four Horsemen ; however, in Roma's case, he went downhill again some time later. The brothers Hardy Boyz began their careers in WWE as jobbers for a few years, before receiving their first push as legitimate contenders in the tag division. Sometimes the opposite will occur, as was in the case of "Iron" Mike Sharpe , who started as a normal wrestler in the independent circuit and
16308-445: The majority of their matches. However, they usually scored clean victories against other pure jobbers. Wrestlers who worked as jobbers for WWE were also employed as jobbers in WCW during this period. The American Wrestling Association (AWA) also made moderate use of jobbers in their shows. In independent promotions jobbers rarely appear, but when they do, it is mostly in squash matches . A jobber may not necessarily lose, only make
16459-476: The match by count-out, but demanded that the match be restarted so he could win the title. It was, and Jarrett pinned Razor with a small package. Razor faced Jarrett in a rematch for the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania XI , winning by disqualification when Jarrett's assistant The Roadie interfered. Jarrett retained the title, as a title cannot change hands by countout or disqualification. Razor defeated Jarrett and The Roadie at In Your House 1 , in
16610-598: The match, giving Goldberg a shot at Hogan's World Heavyweight Championship later that night (which Goldberg won). Hogan publicly blamed Hall for the loss, and Hall was treated as a "weak link" by the rest of the nWo, especially Scott Steiner . On July 13, Hogan challenged Hall to a match on Nitro , during which Kevin Nash (leader of the nWo "Wolfpac" faction) interfered, but as he was apparently about to Jacknife Powerbomb Hogan and regain Hall as his friend, Hall viciously attacked him, proving his allegiance to Hogan and nWo Hollywood. In
16761-581: The match. Dan Spivey's stay in the Central States territory was brief. He returned to the Carolinas and Crockett, jobbing in the freshly rebranded Jim Crockett Promotions as "American Starship" Eagle. Hall, meanwhile, stayed in Central States. Hall joined the American Wrestling Association (AWA) in 1985, where he wrestled as "Magnum" Scott Hall and, later, "Big" Scott Hall. He wrestled as
16912-498: The members of wrestling cartels as the champion drew big crowds wherever he performed, and this would occasionally lead to schisms. By 1925, this cartel had divided the country up into territories which were the exclusive domains of specific promoters. This system of territories endured until Vince McMahon drove the fragmented cartels out of the market in the 1980s. This cartel fractured in 1929 after one of its members, Paul Bowser , bribed Ed "Strangler" Lewis to lose his championship in
17063-414: The movie with a Cuban accent and gave ideas for vignettes that would recreate several of the movie’s scenes, such as driving around South Florida in a convertible with a leopard-skin interior. Although taken right from the movie, Hall claims McMahon and Patterson were nevertheless floored by the ideas and called him a "genius". Hall later learned that McMahon and Patterson had neither seen nor heard of
17214-549: The movie, and believed that Hall was coming up with the ideas himself. Patterson and McMahon came up with the name "Razor", but agreed with Hall's suggestion that it should be a nickname, and that the character should have a proper given name. Hall later asked Tito Santana for a Latino-sounding name that started with "R". Santana suggested "Ramon", Hall brought it back to McMahon and the name stuck. The Razor Ramon logo and costume were designed by Tom Fleming . After weeks of introductory vignettes, Razor Ramon made his in-ring debut on
17365-430: The new champion Shawn Michaels at SummerSlam , but lost. He then began a feud with Dean Douglas . Razor defeated Douglas at In Your House 4 to win the Intercontinental Championship, after Michaels had just forfeited the title to Douglas. This win made him the first four-time Intercontinental Champion in WWF history. In early 1996, Razor feuded with newcomer Goldust , leading to an Intercontinental Championship match at
17516-448: The night, after Hollywood Hogan had lost to the Rock, Hogan proceeded to shake the Rock's hand out of respect, thus turning his back on the nWo. Hall and Nash then attempted to attack Hogan and Rock, but were promptly dispatched by the duo. Hall and Nash later recruited X-Pac (formerly Syxx and 1-2-3 Kid) into the nWo on the following episode of SmackDown! . On the March 25 episode of Raw , Hall
17667-417: The pair (along with Michaels and Levesque) broke kayfabe by celebrating and embracing in the ring together, though the characters they portrayed were supposed to be enemies. According to Hall, he went to WCW not for the money, but because they offered him days off. Other reporting claimed he resigned due to being unhappy with his booking and a drop in yearly pay from 1994 to 1995. Hall's first appearance on
17818-531: The part of Razor as part of a revenge storyline where the return of "Razor Ramon" was revealed by an angered Jim Ross . He became associated with the backstage group known as The Kliq (also consisting of Kevin Nash (Diesel), Paul Levesque ( Hunter Hearst Helmsley ), Shawn Michaels, and Sean Waltman (The 1–2–3 Kid)). Hall was involved in an incident dubbed the "Curtain Call" at a MSG show in May 1996. Because Hall and fellow Kliq member Kevin Nash were departing for WCW,
17969-437: The platform used in boxing , serves as the main stage ; additional scenes may be recorded for television in backstage areas of the venue, in a format similar to reality television . Performers generally integrate authentic wrestling techniques and fighting styles with choreography , stunts , improvisation , and dramatic conventions designed to maximize entertainment value and audience engagement. Professional wrestling as
18120-597: The promotion and move beyond jobber status. Curt Hennig and Eddie Gilbert , who served as high-level jobbers during their initial WWE runs, later became main-eventers. Billy Kidman initially started out as a jobber in World Championship Wrestling (WCW), before moving up the ranks to become a champion in both the WCW and WWE. Paul Roma , who started as a jobber for the WWE in the 1980s, gained enough popularity in WCW to win that promotion's Tag Team Titles with partners such as Paul Orndorff and Arn Anderson ,
18271-714: The promotion's closing in 1991. In the spring of 1984, the WWF purchased Georgia Championship Wrestling (GCW), which had been ailing for some time due to financial mismanagement and internal squabbles. In the deal, the WWF acquired the GCW's timeslot on TBS . McMahon agreed to keep showing Georgia wrestling matches in that timeslot, but he was unable to get his staff to Atlanta every Saturday to fulfill this obligation, so he sold GCW and its TBS timeslot to Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP). JCP started informally calling itself World Championship Wrestling (WCW). In 1988, Ted Turner bought JCP and formally renamed it World Championship Wrestling. During
18422-464: The rest of his contractual obligations and miss the opportunity to receive the higher Wrestlemania payday. Hall returned to WWF television at April's In Your House 7 , where he lost to Vader . By March, rumors ran that the WWF would protect the Razor Ramon character from being used by Hall as being their own intellectual property . It became true in September 1996 in the form of Rick Bognar playing
18573-440: The stamina for an hours-long fight. Audiences also preferred short matches. Worked matches also carried less risk of injury, which meant shorter recovery. Altogether, worked matches proved more profitable than shoots. By the end of the 19th century, nearly all professional wrestling matches were worked. A major influence on professional wrestling was carnival culture. Wrestlers in the late 19th century worked in carnival shows. For
18724-472: The stars" (also known as a "glorified jobber"), which is a wrestler who defeats pure jobbers and mid-carders, but who consistently loses to top-level or up-and-coming stars. This happens after a main-eventer or mid-carder loses their status and is demoted to this lower level. This often happens to popular faces and sometimes heels towards the end of their careers. Many of these jobbers to the stars are heels who routinely beat up on face jobbers so as to build up
18875-452: The superstar look powerful—or at least make another wrestler interfering with the match to look more powerful. One example is Jimmy Jacobs : employed by WWE as a jobber for a time, Jacobs wrestled Eddie Guerrero during the latter's last heel run. Though Jacobs was squashed, he actually won by disqualification when Guerrero beat him with a chair. Another example of a jobber winning was when " The Kid " suddenly won an upset over Razor Ramon on
19026-498: The term "local competitor" . Jobber is a professional wrestling term used to describe a wrestler who is routinely defeated by main eventers, mid-carders, or low-carders. Most promoters do not use the term because of the negative connotation. Jobbers have been used since the 1950s, and they were popular in promotions of the United States and Canada around this time. World Wrestling Entertainment ( WWE ) made greatest use of full-time jobbers during their syndicated television shows in
19177-426: The territories of his former NWA peers, now his rivals. By the end of the 1980s, the WWF would become the sole national wrestling promotion in the U.S. This was in part made possible by the rapid spread of cable television in the 1980s. The national broadcast networks generally regarded professional wrestling as too niche an interest, and had not broadcast any national wrestling shows since the 1950s. Before cable TV,
19328-660: The time). When they did get in the ring, it was with little success. The highlight of their stay in Crockett's Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling was a losing challenge to Arn and Ole Anderson for the NWA National Tag Team Championship. After leaving Crockett, the duo joined Bob Geigel 's NWA Central States territory (based in Kansas City) in 1985. They received a shot at NWA Central States Tag Team Champions Marty Jannetty and "Bulldog" Bob Brown , but lost
19479-585: The title due to the fact that the referee was not the official referee for the match. The Outsiders held the World Tag Team Championship from February 24, 1997, to October 13, 1997, often facing The Steiner Brothers , Lex Luger and The Giant, and combinations of The Four Horsemen . In May 1997, Hall and Nash teamed with Masahiro Chono to defeat the Steiner Brothers and Keiji Mutoh at New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW)'s Strong Style Evolution in
19630-548: The title, even after Rick's partner Buff Bagwell had turned on him. Hall and Nash faced each other on October 25 at Halloween Havoc . After hitting Hall with two Jacknife Powerbombs, Nash left the ring and lost the match by countout, in what was described by the commentators as an act of mercy. Hall was ejected from nWo Hollywood in late 1998, after Scott Steiner took control of the group in Hogan's absence, and then referred to himself as "The Lone Wolf". On November 30, 1998, Hall needed
19781-505: The trial, witnesses testified that most of the "big matches" and all of the championship bouts were fixed. By the 1930s, with the exception of the occasional double-cross or business dispute, shoot matches were essentially nonexistent. In April 1930, the New York State Athletic Commission decreed that all professional wrestling matches held in the state had to be advertised as exhibitions unless certified as contests by
19932-471: The truth, their audiences would desert them. Today's performers don't "protect" the industry like we did, but that's primarily because they've already exposed it by relying on silly or downright ludicrous characters and gimmicks to gain popularity with the fans. It was different in my day, when our product was presented as an authentic, competitive sport. We protected it because we believed it would collapse if we ever so much as implied publicly that it
20083-412: The use of the neutral term enhancement talent . A job which is presented as being the result of an extremely close, entertaining match, or underhanded tactics on the part of an opponent, will not necessarily tarnish a wrestler's reputation, especially if the situation is presented as one where the wrestler "deserved" to win but was cheated. At other times a high-profile loss, particularly one which makes
20234-404: The very foundations upon which he would create ‘The Bad Guy’ under Vince McMahon's empire." He made his first appearance as Razor Ramon in a dark match on a Wrestling Challenge taping against Chris Hahn on May 18, 1992. Later in his career, Hall claimed he pitched the idea of a Scarface -like character during a meeting with Vince McMahon and Pat Patterson , as a joke. Hall quoted lines from
20385-535: The way of proceedings: the "in-show" happenings, presented through the shows; and real-life happenings outside the work that have implications, such as performer contracts, legitimate injuries, etc. Because actual life events are often co-opted by writers for incorporation into storylines of performers, the lines between real life and fictional life are often blurred and become confused. Special discern must be taken with people who perform under their own name (such as Kurt Angle and his fictional persona ). The actions of
20536-783: The world title, but he was pinned by Sid in a three-way match with Jarrett at SuperBrawl on February 20, 2000, in what would be his last match with the company. After departing WCW in early 2000, Hall was inactive for several months. On November 10, 2000, he made a surprise appearance at an Extreme Championship Wrestling house show in Schenectady, New York , teaming with Jerry Lynn to defeat Justin Credible and Rhino . The following day, in Poughkeepsie, New York , Hall defeated Justin Credible, then lost to Sal E. Graziano . In March 2001, Hall returned to New Japan Pro-Wrestling , where he joined
20687-401: The wrestler in question look weak, foolish, or otherwise damages their reputation, might signify certain behind-the-scenes events that have real-life implications on a wrestler. Such a job may mark the end of a push , a departure from the company, or a loss of faith in the wrestler as a marketable commodity. As a result, it may also mark a downward slide in a wrestler's career. This is especially
20838-420: The wrestlers quietly began faking their matches so that they could give their audiences a satisfying spectacle. Fixing matches was also convenient for scheduling. A real ("shoot") match could sometimes last hours, whereas a fixed ("worked") match can be made short, which was convenient for wrestlers on tour who needed to keep appointments or share venues. It also suited wrestlers who were aging and therefore lacked
20989-425: Was Wrestling As You Like It , which printed its first issue in 1946. These magazines were faithful to kayfabe . Before the advent of television, professional wrestling's fanbase largely consisted of children, the elderly, blue-collar workers and minorities. When television arose in the 1940s, professional wrestling got national exposure on prime-time television and gained widespread popularity. Professional wrestling
21140-610: Was drafted to the Raw brand with the rest of the nWo, as a result of the WWF draft lottery . Hall faced Bradshaw in a match at Backlash , which he won with help from X-Pac. On the next night on Raw , Hall and X-Pac took on Austin and Big Show. Late in the match Big Show chokeslammed Austin and joined the nWo. Professional wrestler 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Professional wrestling (often referred to as pro wrestling , or simply, wrestling )
21291-550: Was managed by Diamond Dallas Page , and made his first appearance on May 19 at SuperBrawl 1 . In his debut match, he squashed Tommy Rich on the June 14 episode of Clash of the Champions XV: Knocksville USA . He defeated Tom Zenk at The Great American Bash . It was during his time as "The Diamond Studd" that he also began sporting his trademark toothpicks and also debuted his trademark toothpick fling at television cameras; Page has publicly stated that he got
21442-488: Was challenges from independent wrestlers. But a cartelized wrestler, if challenged, could credibly use his contractual obligations to his promoter as an excuse to refuse the challenge. Promotions would sometimes respond to challenges with "policemen": powerful wrestlers who lacked the charisma to become stars, but could defeat and often seriously injure any challenger in a shoot match. As the industry trend continued, there were fewer independent wrestlers to make such challenges in
21593-509: Was defeated by Butch Reed at a house show in Chicago, IL. After this, he went on hiatus. Shortly afterwards Hall joined New Japan Pro-Wrestling , teaming with Larry Cameron and defeating Hiroshi Hase & Kuniaki Kobayashi March 2, 1990, at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. He wrestled numerous times for the company, facing a diverse group of opponents including Bam Bam Bigelow , Koji Kitao , Nord
21744-542: Was modeled after the characters Tony Montana and Manny Ribera from the 1983 film Scarface . Ramon's nickname (The Bad Guy) and catchphrase ("Say hello to The Bad Guy") derived from Montana's quotes: "Say hello to my little friend" and "Say goodnight to the bad guy". However, Inside The Ropes journalist Adam Morrison noted in March 2022 that Hall's Razor Ramon character also maintained "cocky and cool" aspects which were similar to his WCW "Diamond Studd" character. Morrison also stated that Hall's Diamond Studd character "laid
21895-438: Was not signed by the company. Hall was brought into the NWA's World Championship Wrestling (WCW) territory by Jim Ross in 1989, as part of the NWA's initiative to develop new, young stars (also including Brian Pillman and Sid Vicious ). He made his debut on the June 3 edition of World Championship Wrestling (the predecessor to WCW Saturday Night) in a vignette that showed Scott "Gator" Hall swimming and playing volleyball at
22046-568: Was previously considered a niche interest, but the TV networks at the time were short on content and thus were willing to try some wrestling shows. In the 1960s, however, the networks moved on to more mainstream interests such as baseball, and professional wrestling was dropped. The core audience then shrunk back to a profile similar to that of the 1930s. In 1989, Vince McMahon was looking to exempt his promotion (the World Wrestling Federation ) from sports licensing fees. To achieve this, he testified before
22197-490: Was referred to as the "Armstrong curse". On average, however, Brad Armstrong was more of a jobber to the stars, while his brothers were pure jobbers for the most part, though Brian Armstrong would find the greatest success of the brothers in WWE as the Road Dogg , even poking fun at WCW's 'burial' of the Armstrongs by wearing a t-shirt that said "Look Ma! No Curse!". In 2003, after he returned from his neck injury, Chris Kanyon did
22348-402: Was reunited with Kevin Nash and Hollywood Hogan in a repackaged nWo . Later on the February 25 episode of Raw , the nWo attacked Stone Cold Steve Austin , Hall destroyed a cinder block on Austin's leg. On the March 4 episode of Raw , Hall wrestled his first WWF match since May 1996, defeating Spike Dudley . At WrestleMania X8 , Hall lost to Austin, his first loss at a WrestleMania. Later in
22499-415: Was something other than what it appeared to be. I'm not sure now the fear was ever justified given the fact that the industry is still in existence today, but the point is no one questioned the need then. "Protecting the business" in the face of criticism and skepticism was the first and most important rule a pro wrestler learned. No matter how aggressive or informed the questioner, you never admitted
22650-417: Was the "world champion". Before the cartels, there were multiple wrestlers in the U.S. simultaneously calling themselves the "world champion", and this sapped public enthusiasm for professional wrestling. Likewise, the cartel could agree on a common set of match rules that the fans could keep track of. The issue over who got to be the champion and who controlled said champion was a major point of contention among
22801-552: Was time for the two to debut as a tag team, Rhodes sent them to work in Jim Crockett Jr. 's Charlotte, North Carolina based territory. They debuted as American Starship, Hall under the ring name Starship Coyote and Spivey under the ring name Starship Eagle. At first, American Starship were booked to wrestle infrequently, so much so that the two were given ground crew jobs for the Charlotte Orioles (which Jim Crockett owned at
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